Pages

December 13, 2012

Red Sox Sign Ryan Dempster For Two Years

The Red Sox solidified their starting rotation for 2013-14 this afternoon by signing free agent Ryan Dempster to a two-year deal (2/26.5).

Dempster, a right-hander who will turn 36 next May, takes his place alongside Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, and John Lackey. (Dempster is also seen as a good clubhouse dude.)

Dempster posted a 3.38 ERA in 173 innings last year with the Cubs and Rangers; his post-deadline, Texas-only ERA was 5.09 (though two gruesome starts in which he allowed eight runs each caused some inflation). It was the first time in five seasons that the durable Dempster did not pitch 200+ innings.

This deal is similar to the other contracts the Red Sox have offered this winter: short-term deals for reasonable money to above-average players. GM Ben Cherington continues to build a team that should be reasonably competitive, while not hampering the development of (or trading away) the team's top prospects.

ESPN's Keith Law calls getting Dempster a "small coup" for the Red Sox.

"Getting Ryan Dempster, one of a handful of mid-rotation starters who now represent the best pitching options on the free-agent market, for just a two-year deal is a small coup for the Red Sox. Other starters in this group, such as Kyle Lohse and Anibal Sanchez, apparently want deals of four or five years, and Dempster is very close to them in quality and risk, close enough that for his deal to be half that length is a big win for Boston."

9: Newtown was the "hometown" of my band 10 years ago, as we played Newtown Teen Center more than anywhere else. So this whole "kids of Newtown" thing hits home for me too. Then I find out my mom's new husband has a grandkid IN that school! A second grader. He's fine. Said exactly what we heard on the news--teacher put 'em all in a corner, finally a knock on the door and it was a cop, who herded them out telling them to close their eyes. So sad.

I don't have much to add about the shootings in Connecticut. Devastating. What was odd for us, is that the 14th was the 20th anniversary (so quick!) of our own school shooting. People came from all over to attend a memorial and connect. We were all on heightened emotions with memory and then this.

I've been avoiding most of the news about it. Just can't process it well at this point. It may be trivial to think about baseball at a time like this, but sometimes that's exactly what you need.